At what point is releasing not good?

[NJRIsurfcaster]

I've read some facts and believe that some bigger fish will exhaust themselves when hooked up and if released will not be able to survive, so they might as well be kept as trophys or simply for food. People say "big tackle and gear" will shorten the fight and increase the chances of survival for the fish but what are your opinions. Just how long could a feisty 30lb, 40lb, 50lb, 60lb fish fight and still be able to survive? Anyway to make a good judgement on this on the beach/rocks with the fish in front of you, thinking...should I snap a picture and let it go...will my buddies believe me....will it survive if I let it go?

Whats the biggest you've had with a confident release?

[NoChunkin]

Here's my take on that. I don't want to play the odds of a fish dying....I let it go. Sometimes I get a pic if fishing with a buddy...most times I don't cause my buddy can't make it. Yea, it might die later.....but it might not either. I like to give it a chance no matter what. i could care less if anybody believes me or not and my buddies and i are at a point where there isn't any competition, one-upmanship, or lying.
I'm not against anyone keeping fish...not one bit. I keep my share and abide by the rules. However, my enjoyment of the sport increased 10X's when I stopped competing and just fished for the pleasure, the teaching, and the sharing.

[Pete_G]

NoChunkin basically summed it up for me.

I've seen a lot of big fish go back. If that dorsal is up, the color is there, and it moves out confidently I feel it is VERY likely that the fish will make it.

Several low 40's for me in regards to confident release. Nothing more then a really big schoolie. Just give it a moment to get it's bearings and I think they're fine.

[kheim]

I have a question for you guys who fish off the shore in newport and similar VERY ROCKY areas. I fished various spots in newport this summer and the surf was pretty big, on some occasions we werent able to get very close to the water at all because of incoming waves. My question is, how do you saftely release big fish in these conditions? I imagine it would be very hard to saftely get a BIG fish back in the water when big surf is keeping you a good distance from the edge. And i dont think trying to "toss" the fish out into the water would be very comfortable for the fish. What do you do with BIG fish in these conditions?

[Pete_G]

It's thankfully not always as rough as you saw on your visit this summer, but often many spots have a lee or something else that I can hide behind to carefully release a fish.

[Rob]

Originally Posted by kheim

I have a question for you guys who fish off the shore in newport and similar VERY ROCKY areas. I fished various spots in newport this summer and the surf was pretty big, on some occasions we werent able to get very close to the water at all because of incoming waves. My question is, how do you saftely release big fish in these conditions? I imagine it would be very hard to saftely get a BIG fish back in the water when big surf is keeping you a good distance from the edge. And i dont think trying to "toss" the fish out into the water would be very comfortable for the fish. What do you do with BIG fish in these conditions?

This is true but before you get that chance you need to have a scout a safe spot to land the fish which is norm a safe spot to set her back.

[RockHopper]

As a newbie, I'm learning a lot from these forums, and this recent post is just one example. On Sunday afternoon, when the surf was raging, I headed out to Sachuest and carefully staked out a spot that I thought might have fish (tips and clues from other posts applied here) and had a safe place to guide a fish into so I could release it (yet another thing I've learned from the forum) without getting swept out to sea. All said, everything went to plan...caught a half-dozen "good sized" stripers with a small atom popper, and worked each one into my safety spot. At the end of my two-hour stint, it not only felt great to having caught something, but to having done so by applying what I've learned here.

So, to extend this, I'm wondering if the guys in the shop have any plans for how-to seminars this winter? A beginner series would be awesome.

[Frightnight]

I love that idea. A beginers forum would be great. I need one bad. ha ha

[nofish]

Interesting, but they still have no chance out of the water.